This was a cute read about an old Irish town that is trying to bring back a traditional Matchmaking festival in order to help save a pub from destruction. Have you ever dropped a penny and a wish into a wishing well? You can come do that here at the match maker festival. This book took me a minute to get into honestly, just with gettingto the main part of the story, but then the characters were fun with a cute story and an easy read.
*arc provided by netgalley for honest review

The Matchmaker is a delight- such a gem of a book! The characters, plot, setting...everything weaves together to create a read that is so satisfyingly joyful. Be ready to fall in love with Katie and Callum and the village of Ennisbawn.
Thanks to #NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read before pub day on April 18th!

This was such a fun Irish romcom in which the main character has to save her village pub from developers by resurrecting the town’s old matchmaking festival. It made me want to move to an Irish village in the countryside! I loved Katie’s quirkiness and her incredible, hilarious friends, and I loved the family she built for herself. Calvin was so sweet (and his grand gesture?? 🥹😭). Even the villain grew on me by the end of the book, so I kind of want a sequel where he finds his own love story! This is my first book by this author, and I will definitely be picking up more in the future!

I love a story set in Ireland! Small town, Irish romance should be its own specific trope! This is a David and Goliath story about saving a small town pub from a giant golf course developer. The pubs bartender, Katie and the golf course developer Callum have to overcome a lot to get their HEA. I really like the two main characters but I didn’t connect with their Insta love. I wish there had been a little bit more build up for that. I loved all the side characters (very Irish). Overall, this is a perfect easy, beach read! Thank you #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I've only read two of Catherine Walsh's books but she has never failed to make me swoon! I love the matchmaker trope (is that even a real trope? idc) because the matchmaker is always to be the oblivious one when it comes to love matches for themselves. This book had the perfect amount of swoon, comedy, spice, etc. I've been disappointed by the romance novels I've recently read and I was just finally glad to be reading a good one. It was good. I love Katie and Callum. Callum was already head over heels in love with Katie in the beginning it was so endearing to watch how their relationship grew. I'm definitely going to read more of Catherine Walsh's books after this.

The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh, is a charming and a very easy read book set in Ireland. Katie Collins has grown up in a picturesque village, with a tight-knit community, friendly local pub, and stunning natural surroundings. But when Callum Dempsey arrives as part of a development team with plans to demolish the beloved pub, Katie is determined to stop him at all costs.

As Katie sets out to save her community and fight against the development plans, she finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Callum. Despite their initial animosity, she discovers that he is kind, funny, and charming, and begins to fall for him.

While the romance between Katie and Callum develops quickly, the real heart of the story lies in the relationships between Katie, her friends, and her grandmother. Through her skillful storytelling, Walsh creates a cast of characters that are relatable, funny, and endearing and I found myself rooting for these characters to find their own happy endings

thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinions are my own!

This is an absolutely adorable small town romance. Callum was such a sweetheart and I loved him so much. I couldn’t put this book down. It was such a fun read.

What would you do to save your beloved Irish village from the destructive, uncaring hands of a developer? Revive your local matchmaking festival to bring people to the village again to spite the handsome developers plans? Yes!

I've read all four of Catherine Walsh's books and they are consistently full of Irish charm, complex feelings and circumstances, witty banter and romance. Her books are an absolute delight!

This one was different than I anticipated in terms of the plot development, but I'm not mad about it, I actually love when a book takes a unique turn from my expectations and surprises me. There are lovely, rich side characters, and the community of an Irish village and life of the pub are very authentic. I grew up in Ireland and the farm and field across from my childhood home is now a bypass and while I was not there for the village riot, I know there was one. This story definitely hit my heart with my somewhat similar experience, but also with the universal story of protecting against growth and development while also accepting it, as well as the love stories between two people, found family and community.

Many thanks and cheers to Bookouture via NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This was my first book by the author and will be headed to read the back list now! This book was cute and light and made me long to travel to Ireland to explore tiny villages.

I also enjoyed the range of relationships the author uses to connect you to the town. The lore of the matching making ceremony was fun and the HEA is always a must.

This has to be the sweetest hallmark-esque style book I have picked up in a while. I’m glad I was approved to read this sweet enemies to lover style book! He’s from a big corporation she just wants her company and home to not change and let the games begin! She got to honor those that meant to most to her and he, well he got the prize of a lifetime! If you’re not sure pick it up anyway it’s a quick read and so damn adorable!

I am usually driven to like a book more because of the plot which for this book was fantastic but what blew me away were the characters. It is not often that I like all characters, main and side.

This was a spectacular small town romance and I could not not stop smiling while reading this. Walsh is a a fabulous story teller; her prose and characters just made this such an enjoyable read.

The chemistry between the two mains had be giggling and while it was somewhat of an instant attraction which is not usually my favourite, that pinch of temporary enemies to lovers, created a great dynamic between them.

A small community on the brink of ruin, a girl desperately trying to keep her life the same, and a magical matchmaking well. What more could you want in a book?
I was honestly pleasantly surprised by this book. It was such as quick, refreshing read about a small Irish town that has been trying (...and failing) to stave off a major hotel corporation from destroying their town and history. The book is full of quirky, like-able characters including the main protagonist, Katie. Working as a bartender in the local pub, she loves her community and doesn't want it to change. In a desperate last-ditch effort, she decides to revive the matchmaking festival, a long-lost town tradition, to prove that their town is special and deserves to be preserved from being replaced by a luxury golf course. In the process of saving her town, she is at odds with those working for the enemy, Callum, whose endearing charms might be harder to resist than she thought.
When I first started the book, I wasn't hooked in the first couple chapters, but after about chapter 3, I literally couldn't stop! There was always some sort of funny development happening that made me want to read further. I mean at one point she storms into the near-by construction site in her pajamas to lodge a complaint! You never know what is coming next, and I really loved that quick pace.
I am also always a sucker for small-town romances especially those with such a strong emphasis on community and family. This is exactly what this book had! I really connected with their mission of trying to get a big corporation from wiping them off the map. It felt very relevant in today's times! The fact that they were using a matchmaking fest to do it made it all the more entertaining. I truly felt a deep need to travel to Ireland at the end of this book as going to a small town sounded so appealing!
Activism aside, the characters are what sold the book to me. From the main character to even the local old guy who practically lives in the pub, everyone was hilariously unique. Even the slightly annoying characters like Callum's brother were still somehow endearing cause they fit the world perfectly. It's not that every character was perfect, it was that the author was able to capture what living in a small town was like. You may not like everyone, but you do support each other. One thing that I appreciated was that the main character wasn't trying to escape to the city or trying to adjust to small town life. She was born there, grew up there, and had no need to leave no matter what anyone told her. She loved her town from the start and never wavered in her commitment. Her banter with her friends was also elite and very realistic. I mean I often think my best friends deserve the world while wanting to toss out their wardrobe when they are getting ready for a date. It perfectly showed female besties living life! At the end, I can say that I really did care about each and every one of the characters.
Of course, it being a romance book, I HAVE to talk about Katie and Callum. I really liked their relationship which was a twinge of enemies to lovers without it going too far. Often, I feel like this trope takes the enemies aspect too far making it such an extreme swing to lovers. This wasn't the case here, and I loved that! The only issue that I had was that the romance between Katie and Callum felt a little too fast for how much time they spent together. This is NOT to say that they didn't have chemistry, because they did! They just didn't have many deep conversations for their level of connection. While they had cute flirting moments that made me giggle, it felt like it went from "I like you" to WAY more a little too quickly, and I would have like more interactions/conversations between them.
Overall, I really would recommend this book as it is a perfect summer read for those who have (or in my case want) wanderlust. You'll want to look up flights to Ireland after this, trust me!

The setting of this was just perfection. Katie is the most relatable, loving character and it's impossible not to fall in love with her. Callum seems angsty and sexy. But I just didn't get the chemistry I wanted from them. It seemed so instantaneous and like I'd skipped a few chapters. Cute concept, but just fell short for me sadly

I find that Catherine Walsh’s books start really strong for me, but by the end, I feel like they are a bit chaotic, and I lose interest. I liked this book at the start. I liked that it took place in Ireland; that’s a bit different. I found myself wanting to read, thinking about the characters, and I found them all to be likable, I thought the town was charming, but by the time we got to the festival, there were so many things happening, and I just felt like it was pure chaos. I also felt like the relationship between Katie and Callum felt a bit young, and I think the steamier scenes could have been steamier.

Overall, I think this was fine, but I don’t think it’s a MUST-read.

After reading Holiday Romance last year, we quickly became Catherine Walsh fans! Her novels are so fun to read that we quickly purchased her backlist and we are delighted to read her newest book, the Matchmaker.

Katie Collins loves her tiny Irish village of Ennisbawn and the tight knit community. It’s surrounded by mysterious forests, rolling hills and a scenic lake. It’s the perfect spot to build a mega hotel and golf course except the builders are tearing down everything she loves, like the village pub where she works. How will she stop this from happening? She’s going to revive the matchmaking festival where her parents met…all while trying not to fall for the handsome project manager she just met while wearing her pjs with yellow ducks in rain jackets!

Katie was so endearing. We cheered on every success and felt sad at every failure. We loved her passion for her small town and everyone in it. Callum was such a softie! He fell hard and fast and had the most romantic things to say (we are still swooning). He was also so supportive of her. Katie loved her small town life and he was drawn to that. We could see the hearts in his eyes from here. Their meet cute was romcom perfection!

The story is charming and heartfelt, with witty dialogue and endearing characters. Can we visit Ennisbawn? Also we are dying for a little more Gemma & Adam! Maybe a novella? Just putting it out into the universe 😏.

Many thanks to @bookouture + @netgalley for the e-book ARC in exchange for our honest review.

What we liked:
▪️All the supporting characters
▪️Insta love for him (which could be a dislike for most but we loved it!)
▪️Katie! You can’t help but root for her and she has great character development

What we didn’t like:
▪️Too much focus on the festival that the romance gets lost at times

'The Matchmaker' is a story about a small town who wants to keep their town intact, but they come up against developers who want to build a hotel and knock down their local bar. The story takes place in Ireland, and it has a cast full of loveable characters. Katie works as a bartender at the pub, and she lives with her grandmother. She has two best friends, Nush and Gemma, and the owner of the bar, Adam, is like an older brother/father figure to her. With all of these people in her life, Katie finds herself so luck to live in Ennisbawn.

When developers come to town, she fights against how they want to change her town. She meets Callum, who works for the company. She initially pushes against him, but soon enough, they develop feelings for each other. Their relationship is sweet and spicy, but I wish that there was more of it.

I loved the side characters too. I would love a story about Nush, Adam, or Gemma!

Overall, the book is not what I expected it to be. Because it's called 'The Matchmaker', I was expecting more of a focus on the Matchmaking Festival. It seemed like that part was a side note to the story, and I wanted more matchmaking.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC of this book.

This story is about a small Irish town resisting a construction company that has been completely changing it up to build a new hotel and golf course. The main character is a passionate bar tender that holds dear to the town and its traditions, mainly the ones pertaining to her parents whom have passed.

The beginning was a great start but somewhere along the way I didn't feel much of a connection between the love interests. They felt like friends that decided they were attractive and available. I was actually hoping the story would take a turn and Katie and Jack would end up together. Though Callum was very supportive and said a lot of wonderful things in the end.

The side character's love stories and the plot were much more interesting than the main romance part of the book.
I really liked that the villain in this story wasn't a complete villain. I'd be interested to see where his story goes.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

I'm a big fan of Catherine Walsh and while I did enjoyed this book, it wasn't my favorite of hers. As always, I loved the setting and the wishing well was particularly charming. The characters were fun and relatable. I especially loved Granny (who doesn't love a stubborn, sassy old lady?!). I loved the chemistry between Katie and Callum and their "meet cute" was great but it was a little too quick of a connection for my liking. The story felt a little slow at times but overall it was a fun, light read that I enjoyed.

I was so excited when my request got approved for this book. If you read the synopsis you’ll know why. I was not disappointed, it was such a quick and fun read. This is one of those interconnected standalone series, and was just so well-done. I thought the plot could actually do better with an extra chapter or two to really develop the romance a little more but ultimately it was just a really enjoyable read. The characters and plot were fleshed out and so well-done.

Ember is reckless and rebellious. She has trauma and just doesn’t know how to cope with it, but she is desperate to have control. She was a really fiery and sassy character that I enjoyed reading about. I loved how much she adored her family, she protected them and would do anything for them. It rooted her with purpose.

Killian was such an interesting character, and I think he was a great companion. He had his own story and development, and issues. I loved his growth and how they supported each other in the end, they pushed each other to be the best.

This was definitely a romance book more than fantasy, but it had a really cool aesthetic. I loved the fantasy setting though, it was super cool and vivid, the fairytale setting was so well-done. I really enjoyed the short novel, it didn’t feel like a full length novel, I finished it so quick.

Irish charm goes up against a development company to save her small village.

|Synopsis|
A large development firm has started buying land & developing it in Katie's small town. There eyes are now set on the local pub, the only one left in the village. Katie fights back reminding others of the cultural significance of the wishing well and matchmaking festival. Only thing is, it has barely run in recent years and she had to prove herself to the company and their foreman, Callum.

Small town girl. Small town dreams. It's not a lot, I know".

|Thoughts|
This was an enjoyable read and the chemistry between Katie & Callum was sweet. Maybe it was a little bit insta love but there was a charming comfy feel to the story.

"Sounds like a great guy," Callum says flatly. "He is". Callum's jaw muscles flex. "And what is he, your boyfriend or something?"

As tough as Callum may come across initially, he is definitely a cinnamon roll and is just so swoony.
"It's because I don't know how I'm going to tear down your favourite place in the world when I can barely stand the though of you getting caught in the rain"

Did enjoy some of the side characters and how their story intersects with Katie's. Probably not one I'll read again but still a nice one to pick up for a quick romance read whilst on holiday.

📚 enemies (brief) to lovers
📚 small town romance (Ireland)

Spice 🌶️🌶️
3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Catherine Walsh herself for this digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.
Pub Date: 18 April 2023